DUTY CALLS

SARS Letter – Schedule
No.5
On 24 May 2011 the South
African Revenue Service
(Sars) released the following
letter under the title
“Amendments to Schedule
No.5 to the Customs and
Excise Act”.
The amendments
have been published in
Government Gazette No.
34272 dated 13 May 2011
and became effective on
1 June 2011.
General Note 1 of
Schedule No. 5 stipulates
the requirements that must
be complied with before a
refund or drawback of duty
will be allowed.
The newly inserted
General Note 8 to Schedule
No. 5 places a legal
obligation on exporters
to insert, on the export
declaration, the customs
procedure code (CPC)
applicable to the export, as
well as the relevant refund or
drawback item for refund or
drawback of duty purposes.
The proviso contained in
Note 5(a)(i) to refund item
522.00 that was applicable to
refund item 522.03 allowing
for a refund application to be
considered, even in instances
where the export declaration
was not accompanied by the
form DA 63 at the time of
submission, has been deleted.
The effect of this amendment
is that the export declaration
and the form DA 63 must be
presented simultaneously to
afford Sars the opportunity to
positively identify the goods
on exportation as being the
same as those imported.
Applications for a
refund or drawback of
duty submitted prior to 1
June 2011 will be handled
according to the procedures
in place at that time.
Soft Drinks Regulations
– Comment Due
In a Government Gazette
notice the Minister of Health
published Regulations – Soft
Drinks: Draft Amendment
for public comment.
The proposed amendments
relate, amongst others, to
labelling of soft drinks, as:
(i) “High Caffeine Content”;
and (ii) “Not Recommended
for Children under 12 Years
of Age, Pregnant Women,
Persons Sensitive to Caffeine,
and not to be Consumed
as a Mixture with Alcohol
Beverages”.
Comment is due by
13 August 2011.
Regulations for RIP
Cigarettes
In a Government Gazette
notice the Department of
Health published Regulations
relating to the Standards for
Manufacturing of Reduced
Ignition Propensity (RIP)
Cigarettes.
The notice’s table
of contents covers:
(i) Definitions; (ii)
Requirements; (iii)
Performance Standard; (iv)
Testing Requirement; (v)
Certification and Product
Range; and (vi) Packing and
Marking Requirements.
Sars Confiscates Illegal
Cigarettes
A joint operation by the Sars
Customs Border Control
Unit and the South African
Police Service (SAPS) has
resulted in the detention of
about 431 master cases of
illegal cigarettes, or about 4.3
million cigarettes.
The illegal cigarettes
would have brought about R
2.5 million in import duty
and Value Added Tax into the
Sars coffers.
Sars will continue to take
a tough stance against all
forms of smuggling and
has encouraged the public
to report any suspicious
activities to its Anti-
Corruption and Fraud hotline
on 0800 00 2870.
Duty Calls’ Watch List
Comments on Sars’ Draft
Customs Duty Bill are due by
06 June 2011.
Comment on the proposed
increase in the rate of
customs duty on artificial
turf is due by 03 June 2011.